Speech by the Chairman of the Gillette Group on the Launch of DirecOne Call Centre Help Desk and CRM Solutions
Senator the Honourable Dr Lenny Saith Minister of Public Administration and Information, Mr. Gary Owens Chief Executive Officer of Accent, and valued business partner, Mr. Renwick Nickie, Chairman of the Chaguaramas Development Authority, Mr. Christian Mouttet, Chairman of TSTT, Members of the Board of Directors of DirecOne, Members of Management and staff of DirecOne, foreign guests, valued customers, members of the media, distinguished ladies and gentlemen.
As I stand here before you today, I can honestly say that it is indeed a great pleasure to share with you the news of recent accomplishments at DirecOne.
Inbound to Outbound – The Paradigm Shift
In July of 2000, DirecOne first opened its doors to take its place in the extremely competitive global outsourcing market. Like many new businesses, we went after the easy business first- the outbound telemarketing business. The learning curve while steep was not very long and this segment of the market was one of the easiest to go offshore. With many changes taking place that had significant impact on this segment, we at DirecOne realized that we had to make a Paradigm shift if we were going to survive. The shift from outbound to inbound. 9/11 and the introduction of the Do Not Call List, for many outbound only centers were some of the final nails in the proverbial outbound coffin.
For those of you that are familiar with the technical depth of the Gillette Group you could appreciate that technology was not going to become an issue in our transformation. Fortunately, we had implemented technology from the beginning that gave us the flexibility to blend both types of traffic.
The Accent on the right Partner
But there was one missing ingredient. We did not have the experience or the client relationships that were critical, if we were going to be successful.
We embarked upon a strategy that has served us well in the past. We began looking for the right partner. That partner is Accent. It was just about two years ago that this partnership began. It started small with a commitment to utilize about 45 of the 288 seats at DirecOne. It was only a matter of time that the cultural compatibility and business practices and experience of the respective companies began to produce great results. Our partnership with Accent is strong and growing. The Gillette Group has already engaged in discussions for the rollout of two additional centers. The Accent team headed by Gary Owens has been nothing short of remarkable. They have pushed us to deliver at new levels of productivity and excellence. Your investment in training and technology is a significant message to us that you are in this for the long Haul.
New Investments – Technology, facilities and People
Today we are here to celebrate a major milestone in this relationship. When DirecOne started in 2000, all of the $40 million invested at the time was local capital. Now a further $10 million is being invested in technology and facilities upgrades that will see the existing facility expand to over 400 seats and the creation of some 1000 new jobs.
The difference is, that approximately 50% of this investment is being directly made by Accent. With the signing of a new contract with a Fortune 100 Telecom company the hiring has already begun and about 120 new employees are being hired and trained each month.
Developing the Knowledge based Economy and the vision 20/20
While the capital sums being invested are not as impressive as the Billions that are required to build an LNG plant, the quality job creation certainly is.
We need to continuously ask ourselves why would investors bring their capital to invest in Trinidad when labour rates in India and the Philippines are better than ours. What are our competitive advantages as a Nation? What are the impediments and how can we remove them? On the positive side, we have proximity to the US Market. Our Labour force is in abundance, literate and well educated with a high quality work ethic. Also, we share a cultural alignment and empathy with the US and our businessmen have had years of experience in hammering out win-win deals that has seen trade and investment between the two countries on the rise.
What are some of the impediments? Well these are simple. IT enabled industries such as what we have at DirecOne need three additional key ingredients.
1. Internationally Competitive Telecommunication rates.
2. Available Infrastructure that is suitable to the industry.
3. A continuous supply of appropriately trained labour.
Mr. Minister, your initiatives in the area of Telecommunications liberalization are truly welcome. As you move to liberalize our telecommunications sector, I have no doubt in my mind that rates for International connectivity will begin to come down. This must happen or we will be left behind by other jurisdictions that offer better rates. Having said that, I want to go on record as recognizing the efforts of TSTT in facilitating us in this venture. The speed of execution was impressive and equivalent of any first world country.
Our Neighbors Jamaica is already ahead of us on Telecom Liberalization. They already have programs that subsidize training for the sector and they have invested heavily in Infrastructure development. The opportunity is huge and there is room for all. But the window will only stay open for so long.
We all have much work to do still however let us not forget why we are here. Today marks a major first step on our part towards taking us closer to some of the objectives of the Government’s Vision 2020 plan
Trinidad and Tobago as a Player in the Knowledge based economy
There are distinct similarities between what has happened in the Energy sector and this offshore outsourcing sector. Without a PT. Lisa’s and an NGC to facilitate and fast track these investments, I dear say that Trinidad would not be in the enviable position that it is in today as a Global player in the Energy world.
Infrastructure Development
Call Centers require in large quantities, readily available high quality building space. If not for the availability of this building at Chaguaramas we may well have never been able to get this Center started in the first place. Customers are not going to wait while you construct a building. They will take their business elsewhere. I am particularly encouraged by the direction that PIDCOTT is heading but I think that we should also not forget what we already have here at Chaguaramas. I can envision in this building alone housing at least a total of 1500 seats and employing over 3000 persons.
A Skilled and Literate Labour Force
And what of education? Well if we are to become a developed Nation by 2020. It will only come about by educating our youth in the use of technology and preparing them to compete in this Information and Knowledge age. Our clients are always very impressed by the intelligence and learning ability of our agents. We need to continue to invest as a Nation on giving them skills at the secondary school level that make them relevant in today’s market. We currently put each of our Agents through 5 weeks of intensive training. Knowledge that they will keep with them for the rest of their lives. This can only make us better and more competitive as a nation. We are fortunate that we have a Client that makes this level of investment in our people. There are those who will not and will take their business to countries where the training is subsidized by the Government and relevant to the specific industries involved.
Right Sourcing your Outsourcing
There is a saying that goes ”Success is when preparedness meets opportunity” The Opportunity is upon us. There is a Tidal Wave of Offshore work to be had. It will be there for those that are best prepared. Trinidad has the opportunity to become a World Leader in this arena.
To the DirecOne team. Keep up the great work. We cannot do this without you. This is a people business. It’s about you and how you treat our customers’ customers. Stay focused and onward to greater things.
This evening we have a full compliment of distinguished speakers and I thought rather than bore you with more words, what better way to give you a feel of what this is all about than by giving you a sneak peek into what we have been up to in the past couple of weeks. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you the Accent/ DirecOne partnership. Enjoy